The Boston Massacre became a rallying point for those opposed to remaining British colonials. Because the incident was the subject of propaganda, there is a great deal of mystery and misconception about what really happened. How can we know what is truth and what is fiction?

In this lesson, students evaluate the events of the Boston Massacre by identifying bias (point of view) and motive for writing. They look, too, for “immediacy” in primary and secondary source material. By determining reliability of sources, they attempt to determine who is to blame for the Boston Massacre.